Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is one of my favorite special events at the Magic Kingdom. I have attended it multiple times and I feel like I have a few tips and tricks to give you if you’re thinking of attending the party this year.

Disney sells a limited amount of tickets to these events. Does this mean the park is going to be less crowded? Maybe. Maybe not. In reality the closer the date gets to actual Halloween (October 31st) the crowds will become steadily more and more plentiful. Expect the last week of October and Halloween night itself to be jam packed. Plan accordingly.

I think the special parties are a bargain if you plan accordingly. $79 for a full evening with special holiday surprises is one of the least expensive ways to spend time at the Magic Kingdom. Again if you are making the party part of your Florida vacation, perhaps do not buy regular admission to the theme parks for the day of your Halloween party. Use that day to enjoy your pool and your resort amenities or head over to the wonderful Disney Springs for the morning and afternoon, then head over to the Kingdom for the party at 4pm. This saves you a significant amount of money.

Getting your photo taken with your favorite Disney Villain is one of the favorite things to do during these special nights. Disney doesn’t always issue lists or maps of where the costume villains will appear but often Disney fans will take to the internet and reveal the locations. A simple Google search can reveal the secret locations so you can plan accordingly when you are in the park. Note that some of the most popular villains draw huge lines. So you make need to make some hard choices in advance so that you do not miss the other attractions going on during these events. Oddly enough, the lines for Princesses are often very short during these events thanks to the focus being on the villains. Its a surprisingly good time to meet many of the princesses.

During the course of the evening Disney offers some sweet treats. Halloween cookies, apple cider and of course more candy treats than you can imagine are part of the fun for free. But Disney also rolls out an amazing amount of Halloween themed treats to purchase too. Some seemingly too pretty to eat… but you still will. This year Disney is offering refillable Jack-o-lantern Popcorn tubs. $4 to start out and a buck fifty to refill. They are also featuring tarts themed after the gallery characters from the Haunted Mansion. These delectables are available for purchase at different stores scattered all over the Kingdom. Nice.

Trick or Treaters, young and old, will be delighted to find multiple Treat Trails scattered around the entire park. Cast Members will provide you with an official party themed Trick or Treat bag but it will easily be overwhelmed by the handfuls of treats given out on these trails. You might want to pack your own bigger bags for the night. Those with food allergies need not be spooked. Disney has you covered too. Special teal colored bags are given out to those who identify themselves to have food sensitivities and instead of random candies, special tokens will be given to those with these special sacks. At the end of the night these tokens can be redeemed for treats that won’t effect allergies.

Perhaps the most fun part of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is the amazingly creative costumes worn by your fellow guests. This event has become an unofficial fashion show for those who are into creative costume play. Entire families come in themed costumes. Of course, Disney has limitations on what they will and won’t allow. I once saw a woman in a Jessica Rabbit costume that would have made Jack Skellington blush. But she made it through. So you really have to be over the top to have your costume denied. Disney does have some basic rules to follow. You should check out their official guidelines on the WDW site for the specifics. But mainly they don’t want your sight impaired in any way so absolutely no masks. They don’t want your cape or dress to get caught in a Omni-mover ride, so no to-the-floor dresses and no long dangling appendages like scarfs or tails. They do not want anyone to attempt to upstage real Disney characters so if you choose to go as a member of the Disney family make sure you do so in a way where children will not come requesting your autograph. Looking a little like a Disney Princess is ok. Looking exactly like a Disney Princess is not. But thanks to creative Disney Bounding people have found very clever ways to represent Disney without risking being turned away.

While I kind of find the twice nightly stage show featuring the Witch Sisters from Hocus Pocus only marginally entertaining, the ceremonial releasing of the Villains for meet and greets is pretty fun to see. This might be a good time to queue up for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or one of the other coasters as lines might be shorter during the stage shows. Or take this opportunity to queue up where your favorite villain will eventually end up.

Do NOT miss the Not So Scary Boo To You Halloween Parade. It happens twice during the special event. The highlights include the ride of the Headless Horseman proceeding the parade itself. If you blink you might miss him. He does ride by quickly. My favorite section of the parade include the Pirates who have wandered out of Pirates of the Caribbean, the dancing ghosts and the grave diggers from Haunted Mansion and of course the wide array of Disney villains.

If you are lucky the Cast Members who are working crowd control will spontaneously break into the Thriller dance while you are waiting for the parade to start. I’ve witnessed this. Its awesome.

Oh and the Castle projection show and Halloween fireworks are jaw dropping. Make sure you find yourself an unobstructed view of the Castle for this highlight of the evening.

Disney offers dance parties at sites throughout the Kingdom like within the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon and on the Tomorrowland Stage outside of Space Mountain.

The cool thing about getting to the party early is you get to witness the park transform from mild mannered theme park to its full blown spooky party theming. All of Main Street USA is transformed by dramatic theatrical lighting. In fact all the Lands become a little creepier. Halloween party music is piped in park wide creating a mood that just urges you to dance as you pass from treat trail to treat trail. Though they don’t change the attractions themselves, there is something extra spooky about capping your night with a midnight ride through the Haunted Mansion. Dry ice fog and the addition of Ghostly Cast Members who interact with the queue area makes this the best place to be in all the Kingdom during the party in my opinion.

Hopefully these tips will help you get more out of your Not So Scary experience this month at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom! Have a magical time! -Joseph from AFM

Maybe You Don't Always Need To Wait an Hour Before Swimming...

By Kat Garbis Beacraft

Wandering around Typhoon Lagoon with a donut addiction? That's me every time. Don't worry donut lovers, Disney's got you covered. If you're visiting Typhoon Lagoon and are looking for a sweet treat, make sure you add the mini-donut hut to your foodie itinerary.

After enjoying some tubing or wave crushing, be sure to grab some freshly baked, warm donuts, with a touch of sugar to snack on. If you want to feel like the food critic in "Ratatouille," enjoying some of the best donuts Florida has to offer, this is your spot.

You have the option to get chocolate or raspberry dipping sauce. Hint: Get both!